Button diodes having an integral cylindrical molded plastic body and first and second integral, raised, cylindrical metallic electrical contacts, one of these first and second contacts located on each end of the cylindrical body of the diode are readily available. These diodes are generally inexpensive and are designed so that one of their electrical contacts can be readily soldered to a heat sink plate to thereby provide efficient heat sinking of the diode.
Generally, a nail head lead is attached to the electrical contact of the button diode which is not directly soldered to a heat sink plate. The attachment of this nail head lead generally requires complex fixtures to position the nail head with respect to the raised cylindrical contact while the nail head lead is being bonded thereto. Subsequently, flexible wire leads are soldered to the end of the nail head lead furthest away from the button diode electrical contact. Nail head leads are generally separately formed from wire stock and may therefore be relatively expensive. In addition, attaching a nail head lead to the cylindrical electrical contact of a button diode requires costly fixtures for holding the nail head in place during the electrical bonding (high temperature soldering) operation.